Body protector

ABSTRACT

Body protectors, particularly an articulated shock absorbing vest for use in the equestrian sports. The vest is characterized by its capability of absorbing traumatic impact and crush, while not interferring with movement of the equestrian rider&#39;s torso and arms. The vest includes a back panel and two adjoining side panels conformed to fit the human torso. Each panel includes a plurality of shock absorbing cellular foam ribs independently and movably supported in skeletal array. A protective spinal sheath is supported upon the back panel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

1. Field of the Invention

Body protectors, particularly an articulated shock absorbing vest foruse in the equestrian sports. The vest is characterized by its abilityto absorb impact without interfering with movement of the equestrianrider's arms and torso.

2. Description of the Prior Art

CHEN U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,913

COX U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,295

SNEDEKER U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,728

NEUHALFEN U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,156

VINAI U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,335

WIDDER U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,453

GRILLOT et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,724

RAYFIELD et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,769

KOHN U.S. Pat. No. 4,568, 585

SCHNEIDER U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,384

LASSITER et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,522

DASTIN et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,238

BERKOVITZ U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,467

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided an articulatedshock absorbing protective vest of the type having neck and armapertures. The vest includes a back panel and two adjoining side panelsconformed to fit the human torso. The side panels are adjustably andreleasably secured to the sides of the back panel and releasably securedto each other along a vertical axis of the human sternum. A plurality ofshock absorbing cellular foam ribs are independently and movablysupported in skeletal array within the panels and a protective spinalsheath is supported upon the back panel so as to extend from the neckaperture to the lumbar portion of the panel. The ability of the vest towithstand shock or impact as a result of sharp object puncture, bluntobject damage or heavy object crush has been conclusively established inBritish Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) tests.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the body protector fitted upon the humantorso and including an athletic support harness for tensioning the vestin its proper vertical position.

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation thereof.

FIG. 3 is a right side elevation.

FIG. 4 is a left side elevation.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged front elevation, illustrating zipper fastening ofthe side panels along the vertical axis of the sternum.

FIG. 6 is a rear elevation showing the back panel with the athleticsupport harness attached by zipper at the lower edge of the back panel.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged front elevation, showing leg strap harness strapssecured around the thigh of the equestrian.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary rear elevation showing the leg strap harnessremovably attached by zipper to the lower edge of the back panel.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged front elevation of the inside of the opened vest,showing shock-absorbing cellular foam ribs 86 et al. independentlypositioned in the spinal sheath 17 by means of stitching 29.

FIG. 10 is a top plan of the individual cellular foam rib.

FIG. 11 is a side elevation of the cellular foam rib.

FIG. 12 is a bottom plan of the cellular foam rib, showing its waffledexterior surface.

FIG. 13 is a front elevation of a shoulder pad prior to attachment tothe shoulder portion of the back panel.

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary vertical section through protective spinalsheath 17, showing the vest webbing folded as at 39 and stitched as at29 between the cellular foam ribs.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 1, there is illustrated a Body protector in the form of vest 10formed by a flexible weave fabric and comprising individual side panels16, 18 removably joined by a zipper 12 along the vertical axis of thesternum. Vest 10 may be positioned and vertically tensioned by athleticsupporter harness 22 extending from the back panel lower edge throughthe rider's legs for securement to the lower edge front of the sidepanels 16, 18 by means of "Velcro" hook and loop type or similar typeassembly 28.

In FIG. 2, back panel 14 is illustrated as including protective spinalsheath 17, extending from the neck portion of back panel 14 to loweredge 78 of the lumbar portion. Zipper 76 may be used to fasten harness22 to lower edge 78. Loops 30, 32 at the lower front edge of side panels16, 18 are used for securing support straps 26, 28.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, individual arm apertures 42 and 44 are illustrated asformed by edges 47, 49 of the side panels 16, 18 and back panel 14.Individual shock absorbing cellular foam ribs 15 are independentlypositioned by stitched rectangular pockets both within back panel 14 andside panels 16, 18 such that ribs 15 are approximately 1/4 inch apartand aligned in skeletal array with the ribs being parallel to the humanrib cage. Lacing 20 may be employed to adjust the edges of the sidepanels with respect to the adjoining edges of the back panel 14, so asto achieve proper fit.

In FIGS. 7 and 8, a modified harness 48 in the form of leg wraps 52, 54may be employed such that the ends of the wrap may be releasably securedby Velcro means 56. A zipper 50 may be employed to attach harness 48 tothe lower edge of back panel 14.

In FIG. 5, front panel 16 is illustrated as comprised of a web or shellmade of mesh-like material, such as "nylon" as manufactured by E. I.dupont Nemors or "Spectra", such as manufactured by Allied Signal, suchthat the vest "breathes". A series of individual breathing apertures 40are employed for the same purpose in each rib 18.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, arm apertures 42, 44 may include an open foamcell padded edge 47, 49 for rider comfort. A similar open foam cell edge46 is defined at the perimeter of the neck aperture. As illustrated inFIG. 4, back panel 14 shoulder portion may include one or morearticulated ribs 106, 108 as well as conventional shoulder loops forsupporting the shoulder pad assembly 74 as illustrated in FIG. 13.Shoulder pad loop 58 extends through the respective loops 34, 36 suchthat horizontal rib 72 and vertical rib 56 are supported above theshoulder area. The lower portion of shoulder pad assembly 74 mayencircle the rider's arm for securement by "Velcro" means 70.

In FIG. 9 there is illustrated inside 19 of back panel 14, as embodyingdiagonally supported ribs 104. The individual side panels embody similarclosed cell foam pads with complementary zipper elements 81, 82 forsecurement to each other along the vertical axis of the sternum. Laceelements 51, 53 may be entwined in suitable grommets so as to adjustablysecure the side panels 16, 18 to back panel 19. As will be noted,cellular foam pads may be especially tailored as at 102, 104 to fit thecomplex angles of the garment.

As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 9, spinal sheath 17 is comprised of outerballistic material tape such as "Spectra Shield" as manufactured byAllied Signal and embodying rows of "Spectra" fiber bonded at rightangles with a flexible resin to form an ultra lightweight composite, soas to form a pocket for support of the individual cellular foam ribs.Between inner panel 120 of flexible fabric and outer ballistic materialtape 122 and flexible web 121 are independently positioned a pluralityof horizontally disposed cellular foam ribs 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94, 96,98 and 100. At illustrated in FIG. 14 the flexible fabric is folded asat 39 between the cellular ribs and held in place by stitching 29. Theflexible fabric 39 and the stitching 29 act as horizontal axes aboutwhich the cellular foam ribs pivot. As will be apparent, the ribs 94,96, 98 and 100 are positioned below waistline 124 and have a lesserheight so as to afford increased mobility in the lumbar portion of thevest. In any case, as will be apparent spinal sheath 17 is a laminateformed by ballistic material on the outside and flexible weave fabric onthe inside with shock absorbing cellular foam pads, independentlypositioned therebetween.

As illustrated in FIGS. 10-12, the individual cellular foam pads areconstructed of cross-linked limited high density polyurethane foamlayers laminated together. The individual pads may comprise an interiorgrid or waffling 116 of number two denier, a closed cell foam 114 ofnumber 11 denier and open cell foam core 112 of number 9 denier and anouter layer of closed cell foam 110 of number 2 denier. These layers arelaminated together with individual transverse holes 40 being providedfor ventilation of body heat.

Similarly, the backing piece 80 illustrated in FIG. 9 for vest zipper 82may be of a closed cell foam number 2 denier.

The skeletal or diagonal array of the cellular foam cells enhancesunrestricted body movement, while laterally defusing impact or shock.The athletic or flexible mesh of the exterior web or shell such as"nylon" or "Spectra" enables "breathing" of the entire garment which mayweigh less than two pounds.

Manifestly, variations in weaving of the exterior shell, manufacture ofthe closed cell foam pads and their array within the garment may beemployed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:
 1. An articulated shock absorbing body protector in the formof a vest conformed to fit the human torso, having an upper shoulderportion, a waist portion and a lower lumbar portion, as well as a neckaperture and arm apertures in said shoulder portion, comprising:a. aback panel having upper, lower and side edges conformed to fit the humantorso; b. two side panels, each panel having upper, lower, front andback edges and conformed to fit the human torso, each side panel beingjoined at said upper edge to said back panel at said shoulder portionand extending over the side and front of the torso, said side panelsbeing releasably joined to each other at said front edge at a verticalaxis extending from the neck aperture to said lower edge of each sidepanel; c. a plurality of shock absorbing cellular foam ribsindependently and movably supported in skeletal array within said backpanel and side panels, said ribs in said back and side panels beingaligned with each other and being parallel to the human rib cage; and d.a protective spinal sheath supported upon said back panel and extendingfrom said neck aperture portion to said lumbar portion, said spinalsheath including an outer lightweight shield of flexible ballisticmaterial tape and an inner core of shock absorbing horizontally disposedcellular foam ribs independently and movably supported and pivotableabout horizontal axes adjacent said shield of flexible ballisticmaterial tape.
 2. An articulated shock absorbing protective vest as inclaim 1, said side panels being releasably and adjustably secured tosaid back panel along an axis extending from each arm aperture to saidlumbar portion of said back panel along said side edge.
 3. Anarticulated shock absorbing protective vest as in claim 2, said cellularfoam ribs being comprised of a sandwich of foamed material including anouter layer of dense closed cell foam, a middle layer of open cell foamand an inner layer of closed cell foam.
 4. An articulated shockabsorbing protective vest as in claim 3, said inner layer of closed cellfoam having an exterior waffled surface enabling air circulation.
 5. Anarticulated shock absorbing protective vest as in claim 4, said back andside panels being comprised of an open weave shell of flexible materialenabling breathing through the vest.
 6. An articulated shock absorbingprotective vest as in claim 5, said side panels being releasably joinedalong the vertical axis by means of a front fastener having a protectivelayer of flexible plastic fiber extending under the front fastener fromthe upper edge to the lower edge of each side panel.
 7. An articulatedshock absorbing protective vest as in claim 6, including a leg supportgarment extending from said lower edge of the back panel lumbar portion.8. An articulated shock absorbing protective vest as in claim 6,including an athletic type support extending from the lower edge of theback panel lumbar portion between the wearer's legs for adjustablefastening to the lower front edge of each said side panel.
 9. Anarticulated shock absorbing protective vest as in claim 6, said backpanel shoulder portion including left and right shoulder loops incombination with shoulder pads adjustably positioned thereon.
 10. Anarticulated shock absorbing protective vest as in claim 2, including apadded reinforcing edge secured to the neck portion defined in said backpanel and said side panels.
 11. An articulated shock absorbingprotective vest as in claim 5, said ribs being of rectangularconfiguration and supported approximately 1/4 inch apart.
 12. Anarticulated shock absorbing protective vest as in claim 5, wherein saidside panels are articulated on a vertical axis defined by adjacent rowsof diagonally aligned cellular foam ribs.